RELATIONAL SIGNATURE
Create customer preference
Express a brand's uniqueness to deliver a unique customer experience
All brands today invest in the expression of the tangible components of their brand (store concept, communication, etc.), but they still neglect the more intangible aspects of the interaction between customers and employees. Signs like Leroy Merlin or Jacques Dessange prove that investing heavily in a unique, sincere and consistent experience is a guarantee of customer preference, economic performance and employee commitment. To be sustainable, this experience must be the result of an action defined and framed by the marketing, retail and human resources teams. It is this action that Kea calls Relational Signature.
We have developed a methodology that has been used with clients in sectors as diverse as luxury or business-to-business, who are gradually becoming aware of the competitive advantage of a human relationship at the service of the brand. It is a question of creating coherence between the brand promise and the reality on the ground, taking into account all the stakeholders: the end consumer, the sales force, the delivery people or any other local interlocutor.
During our support, we make sure that several key success factors are implemented.
Expressing the unique values of the brand: from concept to style
The Relational Signature cannot be imposed ex nihilo. On the contrary, it starts from a real work of questioning and precision of the values of the brand, in order to identify the asperities. You don't need 20 years of history to do this. A brand without a strong heritage or DNA can just as easily develop its uniqueness based on the mission it sets itself towards its customers and society. We believe that the Relational Signature must integrate elements of vision: what values does the brand want to convey today and tomorrow? How does it position itself in relation to current and emerging trends? This analysis highlights the differentiating features that form the basis of a Relational Signature, which is all the more powerful for being specific and authentic. Kea helps clients translate these elements into key behaviors and skills for their teams: to know, to do, to be and to manage.
Defining the Relational Signature Winning Equation
To be effective, a Relational Signature cannot be focused solely on the customer: it must be a vector of performance for the company and inspire the commitment of its employees.
The winning equation must take into account three dimensions:
1. Customer preference and recommendation: how to better understand and act on customer preference levers? This is where the techniques of customer targeting and understanding expectations, analysis of influence mechanisms and recommendation are applied.
2. Commercial performance: how to optimize turnover and margin? Sales techniques and related indicators (conversion rate, average basket, sales index) are used to effectively deploy the Relational Signature in the field.
3. Employee well-being and commitment: How do I involve my employees, the bearers of the Relational Signature? It will be a question of stimulating the sense of belonging and pride, the spirit of initiative, the sense of service.
Deep transformation of ways of doing things - when the signature becomes a culture
In establishing a Relational Signature, the execution is as important as the elaboration of its content. Traditionally, training has been the classic means of embedding virtuous attitudes and behaviors. If this lever is to remain strong, we are convinced that it must be combined with other initiatives that make the Relational Signature a permanent part of business practices:
> In vivo learning, which allows employees to take responsibility while stimulating their sense of initiative.
> Digital tools that enrich in-store interactions when seamlessly integrated into the sales ritual.
> Store animation to keep the challenge fresh. Seasonal retail peaks, such as end-of-year celebrations, are opportunities to reactivate the expression of the Relational Signature under favorable traffic conditions.
A point of vigilance is to be observed on the registration of virtuous practices in time. The Relational Signature is not a one-time operation, but a permanent cultural device. It is therefore necessary to think from the outset about its sustainability, but also about its subsequent applications, especially at the international level. Human resources mechanisms, such as the creation of professional courses or a management academy, are essential, as is robust performance management. In addition, managers play a key role in the success of the Operational Signature over time.
